Gearing Up for the Busy Times

We are "gearing up" for our busy seasons! We put in our order for 50 taps and 500 feet of tubing. We estimate about 20 trees that are in easy distance from the house that we can tap this February. Last year we waited too long ot put in our order and they were sold out. If it is a good sugar year and we put in all 50 taps we should be able to collect enough sap to make about 12 gallons of syrup! YUM!

I am also putting in my order for three bee colonies (I was able to collect and sell enough honey to increase our overall hive number this spring!). They will arrive mid April or early May. So far the one hive I didn't "kill" in October is still alive. This winter hasn't been kind though, with such major temperature fluctuations (-4 one day and 55 two days later!). If it continues they will not survive until March. With three new hives I should be able to get some decent honey by July with another good yield in September/October.

Another thing we are getting ready for is kidding season. Our first goat is due to kid March 5 (with seven total kidding all before April 5!). Since they can kid up to 5 days before or after their due date, we have a lttle less than 2 months to get the kidding stall and "kid barn/pen" ready. This means rearranging the dogs' sleeping areas, mucking out the stalls, and clearing out the milking area for stanchions and such. We also clear out cobwebs and make it look pretty (well, as pretty as a working barn can look) because we always have several people come to watch the kidding.

The other part of kidding preparations is we need to vaccinate the does and start increasing their feed ration. We also need to make sure all the animals hooves are clipped up and neat. I will need to evaluate my "vet bag" and restock it, for those "uh-oh" moments. We'll make sure we know where our dehorner is (I've loaned it out so much, I 'm not sure we ever got it back!) and that is is working properly.

Lastly, we are pouring over hatchery catalogs and making decisions about what kind of chicks to order for mid March. We will be checking the chick supplies and making sure we have heat lamp bulbs that work and that all of our "chick tubs", waterers and feeders, survived their storage in the old chicken palace.

By May things will have settled back into a routine... just in time to get ready for Summer!!

Updates

Well, I survived the interrogation by the school psychologist. She was very nice. She was surprised at some of my answers, which is a little unsettling. I know I am different, but I certainly didn't think I was that abnormal! Apparently my methods of discipline and my life goals for my kids are unusual?

We also got through our Parent/Teacher conferences. Both girls are doing fine. Samantha is interacting more with the other kids and not clinging quite so much to Rachel. She is giving her teacher less attitude (apparently saving it all up for me!). Rachel is being Rachel and everyone loves her sweetness and innocence. She is enjoying her role as "mother hen" in the classroom.

We have our PPT for Rachel scheduled for next Tuesday. This is the one where we learn the results of all the testing that has been done in the last month. At least this time I am prepared for the results; not like when they gave the OT/PT results at the end of the last school year.

Today is our church's missionary dinner banquet. I'm making cranberry sauce, peach trifle, and baked beans. Tomorrow is another church dinner after the morning service. For that I am making stuffing and Nathalie and Abby made chocolate chip cookies. They had to triple the recipe so it counts as math class!

Also today the van is picking up the FFA kids from the airport. Unfortunately this means we'll be missing out on cousin Olivia's birthday party. I didn't learn of the party until 2 days ago and had already promised the van by then.

Yesterday Sam and Rachel finished the chicken coop to replace the temporary rooster shelter. Now the roosters will have a warm house and we can free up some of the fencing for the laying hens which need more space.

Sam and Rachel also replaced all the fire bricks in our woodstove. The old ones were very cracked and crumbling. Rachel was trying to figure out how old the woodstove was. My parents gave it to us about 9 years ago and I know it was in their house for about 12 years. So let's just say it is over 20 years old. Hopefully with the new fire bricks, it will last another 5-10 years.

The next project is the shelves in my mud room. We were able to purchase the sheet of plywood we needed yesterday, so Sam will start on it when he is home on Monday.

The older girls and I sorted through all the winter things and thankfully, only Abby needs snowpants. Rachel and Samantha are the only ones who need snowboots. Everyone has a "good" winter coat and a "barn" winter coat. My mother-in-law keeps us well stocked in hats and mittens. So, that project is done.

Thursday a group of homeschoolers came to tour our farm. We had a fun visit and almost sold some goats! I did sell a lot of my honey and discussed "goat shares" with one couple. If the chickens had been laying, I could have sold several dozen eggs too.

Two goats will be going to auction on Monday. Abby has decided to pay for her goat's feed every month, rather than send it to auction. She is hoping to sell it in the spring to a family.

I think that is all that's news here...